The Fairy Lochs are a small group of lochans

Loch

Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...

 approximately 2 miles (3 km) SE of the village of Badachro

Badachro

Badachro is a remote fishing village, in the north west Highlands of Scotland.-Geography:Badachro sits about 3 km south of Gairloch on the shore of Gair Loch, and is an excellent natural harbour popular with yachts. It is scenic and has a pub called the Badacro Inn and a small restaurant...

 near Gairloch

Gairloch

Gairloch is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch on the northwest coast of Scotland. A popular tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a golf course, a small museum, several hotels, a community centre, a leisure centre with sports facilities, a local...

 in Wester Ross

Wester Ross

is a western area of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland, notably containing the villages on the west coast such as:* Lochcarron* Applecross* Shieldaig* Torridon* Kinlochewe * * * Aultbea* Laide* Ullapool* Achiltibuie...

, Scotland.

The lochans are close to Loch Bràigh Horrisdale, which flows into the Badachro River (Scots Gaelic: Abhainn Bad a' Chrodha). There are several large waterfalls in the area, and the hill of Sìdhean Mor overlooks the Fairy Lochs and the bay of Loch Gairloch

Loch Gairloch

Loch Gairloch is a sea loch on the north west coast of Highland, Scotland. Around long by wide, it leads west to the Little Minch. The B8021 and B8056 run around its northern and southern shores respectively, connecting the villages of Gairloch, Charlestown, Kerrysdale, Shieldaig, Badachro, and...

.

The lochs are remote and are accessed over farmland and along paths through marshy ground.

USAAF Liberator crash

Although small and remote, the Fairy Lochs are notable as the crash site of an American World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 bomber. On 13 June 1945, a USAAF B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 bomber (serial 42-95095, based at the Warton Aerodrome

Warton Aerodrome

Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is west of Preston, Lancashire, UK.Today the airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions....

) was returning home to the USA from Prestwick Airfield at the end of World War II.

The crew of nine was from 66th Bomber Squadron; also on board were six crewmen from Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

.

Its route via Keflavík

Keflavík International Airport

-Cargo airlines:-Ground transport:Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new fast freeway was opened 2008. The buses have a timetable adapted to the flight schedule. They go to and from the Reykjavik bus terminal, taking around 45 minutes...

 (Meeks Field) in Iceland should have taken it over Stornoway

Stornoway

Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...

 in the Western Isles, but for an unknown reason the aircraft instead flew over the Scottish mainland. Over Wester Ross the aircraft began to lose height, and struck the summit of Slioch

Slioch

Slioch is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands situated in Wester Ross, eight kilometres north of the village of Kinlochewe. Slioch reaches a height of 981 metres and towers above the south east end of Loch Maree to give one of the best known and most photographed sights in the Highlands...

, a 980m mountain overlooking Loch Maree

Loch Maree

Loch Maree is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At long and with a maximum width of , it is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is ....

, losing parts of its bomb bay doors, before flying on towards Gairloch. An attempted crash-landing resulted in the B-24 colliding with rocks and crashing into the Fairy Lochs, scattering wreckage over a wide area. All 15 crew and passengers on board perished in the accident.

Today most of the wreckage remains where it fell; pieces of fuselage litter the marshes, and a propellor and an engine can be seen protruding from the lochan. The area is now classed as a war grave

War grave

A war grave is a burial place for soldiers or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. The term does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be war graves, as are military aircraft that crash into water...

. Visitors are expected not to disturb the remnants of the wreckage. A memorial plaque, listing those lost, has been erected by the families and friends of those killed. (see left)

The loss of the USAAF 42-95095 was not unique in this region, as other accidents involving military aircraft have taken place nearby. In 1951, a Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

 crashed on Beinn Eighe

Beinn Eighe

Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...

, a mountain near Slioch on the opposite shore of Loch Maree.

External links

• The B-24H Liberator 42-95095 on Air Crash Sites Scotland
• The Fairy Lochs War Grave – Gairloch – video footage of the war grave